


The Most Important Day of the Year

by JTtrack2



Series: 13 and Yaz [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Cheesy, F/F, Sweet, cheesy af
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-05 16:44:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16814521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JTtrack2/pseuds/JTtrack2
Summary: The Doctor is acting a bit shady, but Graham and the Tardis cotton on to the truth: she's just trying to set up a surprise for Yaz.





	1. The Doctor's Favourite

**Author's Note:**

> I almost never write, but since literally all I want to do lately is read these 13/Yaz stories I figured I'd try my hand at one on a rainy day. Thanks for stopping by!

The thing about traveling on the Tardis is that it completely distorts your scale for what counts as incredible. You can be sitting in a hot tub, beside a saline pool in a room where the walls and tiles are a perfect replica of the Roman Pool at Hearst Castle, complete with golden motifs and statues of Roman Gods, on a time-traveling space ship somewhere in a vortex, and it barely registers. Somehow, neither the space itself nor the literal alien soaking next to you feels any more surprising than noticing a new coffee shop has opened along your morning commute route. Somehow, this simply feels like the standard R and R you'd expect after you've just spent the better part of the last two days saving California from the space equivalent of the mafia. In 1983.

Ryan's laughter suddenly broke the restful silence. "I _still_ can't believe we escaped on the backs of ACTUAL dolphins."

"Trained by the CIA," the Doctor added with a wide grin. "Not the most successful Cold War program, but definitely my favourite. Brilliant creatures, dolphins. Better communication skills than some people I've met and very resistant, it turns out, to being used as weapons."

"We're going to have to escape on the backs of dragons next time to one-up that one," Ryan joked.

"Or, we could avoid needing another last-second escape plan ever again," Graham replied. "Just, ya know, beat the bad guys nice and early, for a change. Ride out of town in a nice, classy old deux chevaux."

Ryan looked incredulous. "We can go literally anywhere and anytime and you're dreaming of riding in an old _French_ car? You've gotta be kidding."

Yaz just closed her eyes and smiled at how familial their bickering had come to feel. She definitely wasn't as eager as Ryan to have another close call like this one, but she wasn't nervous either, knowing the next perilous situation was never too far off. She trusted the Doctor. But more than that, she felt, as she never had before, that right here, right now, whenever and wherever that turned out to be, was exactly where (and when) she was supposed to be. If that meant that perhaps her light would go out somewhere out here among the stars, she was at peace with the possibility. A peace she'd never felt with any of the more rational decisions in her life up to now. 

Beside her she felt the Doctor slip out of the hot tub and heard a soft splash as she dove into the pool and began to swim laps. Well, Yaz assumed she was swimming laps from the regularity of the sound of her strokes. In reality, her movements in the pool were more akin to a game of Atari. Staying still and within the lines: two things the Doctor failed spectacularly at in general.

The warmth of the water and the jets gently massaging the tense muscles in her back made it easier than usual for Yaz to resist the urge the follow the Doctor. She wasn't sure if the pool had been The Doctor's idea or the Tardis's. In any case, they had all woken up this morning - well, early afternoon for Ryan - to find neatly folded swimming costumes and towels beside their beds. Yaz had felt uncomfortable in hers, initially. It fit perfectly, but was a far cry from the simple black speedo she would wear for fitness training at the community pool. The two-piece was a deep golden colour with a strap that curved around her neck and boy-short bottoms. _Don't be daft, Mum's not going to appear out of nowhere to tell you to cover up. It's just Ryan, Graham, and the Doctor. No one here cares how much skin you show,_ she'd told herself. 

And she'd believed it, too, until she finally met the others in the control room with her towel in hand and sandals flapping loudly against the metal floor.

After a moment, Graham reached over and gently pushed Ryan's mouth closed, earning him a quick swat to the shoulder.

Yaz didn't notice that scene though. She was more concerned about the Doctor who had heard her enter and turned with a cheery smile. "Yaz! Now we're all..."  
Unlike Ryan, the Doctor had promptly shut her mouth, which had suddenly gone dry. For a long moment she simply stared at her companion, with an expression that Yaz couldn't quite figure out. Suddenly, she felt her cheeks begin to flush and every muscle in her body tense under the Doctor's unexpected scrutiny. Just as Yaz was about to ask if she had been given the wrong costume, the Doctor finally spoke. "That, Yasmin Kahn, is _definitely_ your colour. Right, we're all ready then, nothing like a nice swim," she resumed speaking at her normal, rambling pace, clapping her hands and looking to Graham and Ryan. "Did I ever tell you about the time Frida Kahlo and I ditched a dinner party to go for a dip in the Pacific?"

The Doctor herself was wearing board shorts and a rash guard, making her look oddly like a blonde California surfer if you could tone out the unmistakable Yorkshire accent. _Does the Doctor know how to surf?_ , she wondered and for a brief moment she imagined herself and the Doctor on a white sandy beach, the Doctor's arms around her waist as she taught her how to balance properly on a board.

She quickly opened her eyes. _Get a grip,_ she scolded herself. _It won't do to let your mind wander wherever it wants just because she paid you a compliment._ She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, grateful that the blush she felt on her cheeks could be blamed on the heat of the jacuzzi. She sank a little further into the water, letting the jets dance across her shoulders and listened to the gentle splashing of the Doctor's strokes still coming from the pool, finding the rhythm almost as relaxing as the water.

Eventually, the splashing stopped. "You lot are awful quiet over there, haven't fallen asleep, have ya?"

"Nah, just enjoying the water." Yasmin replied, turning her head to find the Doctor pulling herself out of the pool and shaking her head like a puppy, her blonde hair spraying water and smacking her gently in the face. 

"I reckon' I should probably dry off before I shrivel up and get a scary glimpse of what I'll look like when I'm old," Graham said, looking to Ryan to see if he'd take the bait and inform Graham that he is already old. 

"Don't worry, Graham, by the time you're shriveled up, your won't be able to see yourself in the mirror anyway."

Graham's eyes glowed as he chuckled. Clearly their time together on the Tardis had softened Ryan's feelings towards him more than a bit.

"Ah'm absolutely starvin'," Ryan said as he stood up. "And I will warn you all now, I'm not going to share my pizza. Might even eat two myself." 

"NO!" the Doctor's fervent response took them all by surprise. "Sorry Ryan, no pizza today." 

"Why not?" Yaz eyed the Doctor curiously. She'd rarely denied the team anything, except to protect their safety. And even then, she hadn't done a great job of saying no. Which is how the Doctor had found herself officiating Yaz's grandmother's wedding, even though she knew that visiting their own family histories posed too much risk.

"It's, um, not on the menu," she replied, not looking at Yaz, and then continued to ramble. "How about a nice Sunday roast? Not sure if it's Sunday, but the Tardis does a lovely roast, remember? Ryan didn't think the puds were as good as his nan's, but you all had seconds of the rest."

"I think it's Friday, actually," Yasmin said, getting out of the water and tilting her head in confusion as the Doctor continued to look at Ryan and Graham. She'd been keeping careful track of time, in rough estimates of Earth hours, ever since they left. She might be off by a few hours, but she was pretty confident she'd kept the date right. Even if it didn't really matter, in the end. They could spend 3 weeks in the Tardis and then nip back home for a visit, arriving only a few hours after they had last left. Keeping track of time helped her feel grounded, in a way. Being able to say that it was Thursday the 23rd of November when they visited 18th century France somehow made it seem more... real. 

Graham raised an eyebrow and glanced at Yaz, clearly as confused as she was by the Doctor's unusual behavior. "I usually don't eat that much for tea, Doc," he replied. "Any chance the Tardis could do a bacon butty?"

"Sorry Graham, she's not great with bacon, gets the flavor right but the texture comes out something like cork lathered with olive oil. Not that I've ever chewed on cork lathered with olive oil. Only time I've ever had cork on my teeth was when I opened a bottle of champagne with my mouth because Elton John said I couldn't. Made a bit of a mess, but won 200 quid..."

Eventually team Tardis dried off and found their way to the kitchen, while the Doctor mumbled something about maintenance and headed toward the console room.  
They were surprised to find three plates waiting for them on the table when they walked in. 

Ryan sat down in front of a giant calzone. "It's technically, NOT a pizza," he said with a grin as he cut into the crust and watched the cheese ooze out. 

"I reckon that's for me," Graham said as he sat down in front of a fried egg sandwich and then looked up at the ceiling. "Ta."

Yasmin sat down across from them and opened the steamer basket beside the last plate. A rich scent of unfamiliar yet irresistible spices wafted up from a half dozen perfectly-formed dumplings. She looked around the room with a smile, always unsure of how exactly to address the Tardis. "This smells incredible, thank you."

She sat down, bit into one of the dumplings, and let out an involuntary groan. "These are amazing." The dough was light and airy, the interior stuffing delicate and juicy. _Why did the Tardis serve this to me?_ she wondered. She hadn't asked for anything, wasn't craving anything in particular. Perhaps this was just one of the Tardis's go-to specialties? But they had never had it before...

After dinner, Ryan headed off to play video games while Graham headed to his room for a nap. "Naps are one of the perks of retirement, and even if we are on a spaceship I intend to take full advantage of all retiree benefits," he'd told them.

Yaz headed off to look for the Doctor, telling the boys that maybe she would need a hand. It was a perfectly reasonable excuse, but both Ryan and Graham saw right through it. You couldn't spend as much time together as they had and not notice that Yasmin's first choice in any situation would always be whatever kept her near the Doctor. Hadn't she admitted as much when they asked to come on this journey? _I want more... more time with you._ She hadn't been as honest or direct about it since, but she clearly hadn't changed her mind.

She found the Doctor in the control room, leaning over one of the panels. "Are you sure that everything is in working order?" she said out-loud, presumably conversing with the Tardis, which must have responded somehow via the screen. "Alright alright, I just wanted to make sure. I'm not doubting you, I'm just checking in. I want this to be perfect."

"Perfection is overrated," Yaz chimed in, causing the Doctor to jump in surprise.

"Yaz!" the Doctor smiled at her and Yasmin was relieved that whatever had kept the Doctor from looking at her back at the pool had passed. "Did you all get something to eat?"

"We did, the Tardis had it waiting for us, actually. I brought you a taste of mine, in case you're hungry. Also, so that maybe you could tell me what it is?" She held out the dumpling she'd carefully folded in a napkin and watched as the Doctor's face lit up like a child who's just learned school's out for a snow day.

"These are my favourite!" she exclaimed. "At least they were, in several of my past bodies..." She took a small bite and threw her head back in exaggerated pleasure. "MMmmmm, still amazing in this body." She finished the rest of the dumpling, chewing slowly to savour each bite, before she began to explain them to Yaz.

"These are a specialty from the planet of Papyty. They have the most amazing variety of spices and wild mushrooms the size of brollies, they mix up with a sort of onion and another root plant... I can't believe the Tardis made these for you. She's always telling me they are too complicated for her. I always thought Ryan was her favourite, but maybe you are after all."

"Ryan had a calzone."

"Never mind, Ryan is definitely her favourite." she shook her head. "I told you no pizza!" The Tardis let out a series of beeps that Yasmin felt must be a sort of laugh and she could only laugh along with the ship.

"You're my favourite, though, that's probably why she wanted you to taste one of my favourite foods" she said earnestly, but suddenly furrowed her brows in concern. "Hope Graham doesn't feel left out, not being anyone's favourite."

The declaration made Yaz blush a bit, though it wasn't surprising to her and she was certain that neither Ryan or Graham would be surprised either. They all knew that while the Doctor adored every member of Team Tardis, there was a different sort of connection between her and Yaz. Besides, it's not like she was a teacher playing favourites. The Doctor is allowed to have a best mate. 

"I think Graham's just glad to be here. We all are." Yasmin put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder and the Doctor responded with a small smile, though this time it didn't quite reach her eyes. She knew why her companions were so eager to join her. But it was still difficult to quiet that voice in her head that told her she was being selfish, plucking people out of their own lives to keep her company. But she knew that if she shared her doubts with Yaz, the young woman would make it her mission to silence that voice and it shouldn't be her burden. Especially not today. 

"Maybe you should let him pick where we go tomorrow, though," Yasmin added and to her surprise the simple suggestion made the Doctor jump. 

"Can't do tomorrow. Great suggestion! I'm sure you could teach me a thing or two about team-building, Yasmin Khan, but schedule's already full on for tomorrow," the Doctor waved her hands about as she spoke and turned back to glance again at the console. 

Yaz found it disconcerting that the Doctor was using her usual rambling to try to hide something from her for the second time today. "There's a schedule?" she asked raising her eyebrows. 

The Doctor let out a laugh and looked up at her. Yaz instantly felt lighter. She had worried for a moment the Doctor would start avoiding her again as she had at the pool.

"Of course there is. Did you think I just make it all up as we go along?" 

Yaz couldn't help but smile at the Doctor's feigned indignation.

"Can I see it then?" she prodded, nudging the Doctor with her elbow. "I'd like to know what's ahead."

"I'd love to show you, Yaz, but the schedule is in my head, as it were. Don't write a lot things down, personally. I remember all the important stuff, and this is VERY important." The Doctor quickly stepped on the lever of the custard cream dispenser and popped an entire biscuit in her mouth as though she hoped this would halt any further questioning.

"So important that you can't tell me, your _favourite_ team member?" Yaz asked folding her arms and looking at the Doctor with the same wide eyes that had convinced the Time Lord to chart a course for her Nani's wedding day.

The Doctor swallowed her biscuit, put her hand on Yasmin's shoulder, and shook her head, clearly trying very hard to look very serious despite the crumbs on her lips, "Sorry Yaz. Top secret. Won't even tell the Tardis exactly where we're headed this time."

At that the lights flickered a bright orange with a soft string of beeps, as though the Tardis was having a laugh again. 

"Oh so you read minds now do you?" The lights gave more of a twinkle this time. "Obvious? I don't know what you're on about." The Doctor stared at the ceiling with a hint of a blush as she spoke. Yaz couldn't help but smile and shake her head at the scene of the wise Time Lord arguing with her sentient time machine. Anyone who hadn't seen the things they had seen would think she was raving mad. Sometimes Yaz couldn't imagine how she wasn't. How she could live so many lives, visit so many places, lose so many loved ones, and still keep a grip on reality. Not only stay sane, but stay hopeful and determined and kind and... 

Yaz stopped herself there. The Doctor was, as she'd confessed, her favourite person. But with each adventure and each quiet moment spent together, she knew her feelings for the Doctor were growing into something else. Feelings she told herself were best ignored, as they couldn't possibly be shared. Yasmin Khan had never been one to let her emotions get in the way of what she wanted. And she wasn't about to start now.

"At least give me a clue, Doctor. Tell me what we'll need to wear, will we need to dress extra warm or look nice or..."

"You always look nice, Yaz," the Doctor cut her off, looking at her as though she'd just said the most ridiculous thing in any universe. "You don't need special clothes for that."

Orange lights blinked again and the Doctor gave the console of the Tardis a bit of a kick and looked at the floor in a rare moment of quiet hesitation. Usually, the Doctor tried to mask moments of indecision with rambling, a tactic Team Tardis now saw right through. She finally stepped forward and took Yaz's hand in her own, giving it a squeeze.

"I know you're curious and you're not one to let something like this go without launching an investigation, _but_ you really need to get some more rest. And I really need you to trust me on this one. I promise that you'll love it, Yasmin Kahn, and I always keep my promises." 

Yaz wasn't one to let her emotions get in the way of anything, but she simply wasn't prepared for the emotions that rendered her silent now. She wasn't ready for the intimate gesture of holding hands when it wasn't required to pull one another away from imminent danger. But she knew better than to read anything into it. Holding hands probably wasn't a particularly intimate gesture on other planets. Even on earth, it varied by cultures. She'd been interrogating the Doctor in jest and had never really needed to know what was on the schedule. She'd follow the Doctor anywhere. Besides, if the voyage involved pizza - as she suspected it did - it couldn't be that bad anyway. 

Yasmin decided she had to say something before the silence grew uncomfortable and the only words her mouth would let her form were direct and honest.

"I do trust you, Doctor. Always," Yaz's words came out just above a whisper. "And you don't have to promise me anything."

Her words hung between them for a moment before she recovered her voice and added, "Though you probably should promise Ryan that there'll be pizza."

The Doctor laughed, but didn't let go of Yaz's hand. "I'm sure if there isn't, then the Tardis will probably make us all pizza for every meal for a week. C'mon, let's get you to bed then. Big day on the schedule tomorrow." And she pulled Yaz down the hallway to look for her room. It took them several turns, seemingly going in a circle for five minutes, before they found her door. Though, after they said good night, the Doctor found the control room no more than 15 meters down the hall and to the right.

"You did that on purpose," she whispered, leaning over the control panel. But this time, when the lights glimmered and the Tardis beeped softly, she didn't kick out at the console. "Thank you," she whispered, giving one of the levers a gentle pat before slumping down to sit with her back against the console. "I don't know what I'm doing, you know," and she was surprised that the ship didn't take the opportunity to crack a joke at her expense, but stayed silent instead. "There's just something about her that I can't... I just..." the Doctor ran a hand through her hair, still getting used to the feel of the long blonde strands. "Anyway... thank you."

The Doctor continued to sit on the floor, lost in thought, while the Tardis took it upon herself to set a course for New York City, 2019. Tomorrow, they would only need to pull the lever.


	2. Make a wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a bit of a push from Graham, the Doctor sets her plan into action, but nothing the Doctor does ever goes exactly to plan...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out longer than I expected, so I split in 2 and will have the ending up soon. Thanks again for reading!

Graham's nap had turned out to be a very early bedtime instead, so he found himself up and rested well before the rest of Team Tardis had stirred. Except, of course, the Doctor, who almost never needed to sleep. After a quiet breakfast, he decided to look for the Doctor. He heard her voice from down the hallway and found her in the control room, talking into a telephone with her back to him, her free hand waving in the air. 

"That's right, midnight on Saturday night.... between April 27th and 28th. Yes, and make sure there are lots of the ones that kind of twinkle as they fall, you know the ones... boom and then the lines and then the twinkle. And would it be too much to ask to have a comfy couch and maybe a blanket, in case it's chilly? Oh, Brilliant! I knew I could count on you, Mr. Mayor. Give my best to Chirlane. Thank you, you too."

Graham waited until the Doctor had hung up the phone and cleared his throat. "Morning Doctor, ya alright?"

"Hello Graham!" the Doctor spun around and smiled at her companion. "You're up early."

"Early to bed, early to rise, Doc. Are you busy? I thought maybe we could have a cuppa while we wait for the kids to wake up."

"No, not busy. Just off the phone with an old friend and would love tea with Graham. A word of advice though, never let Ryan hear you call him that, yeah?" 

They sat in the kitchen, sipping tentatively at their hot mugs of tea as the Doctor ran over the plans for the day in her head for the thousandth time since she'd seen Yaz off to bed. All the set-up was in place, everything was ready. But she still had no idea what she wanted to say. How much she was willing to let herself say. But a couple thousand years of experience had taught her that words aren't the only way to speak. What if she was already saying too much? Maybe they should just pop back to Sheffield for a spell and she should wait in the Tardis and pretend she didn't know...

"I can hardly enjoy my tea with your gears spinning so loudly up there. What's on your mind, Doc?"

She looked up at him. "Sorry, Graham. I'm just thinking over some plans for our next destination."

"Are we heading back to Earth today? I heard you mention midnight and Saturday on the phone earlier." 

The Doctor wasn't sure she wanted to tell Graham exactly where she intended to go, in case she chickened out and changed her mind, but it couldn't hurt to confirm they were going to Earth. That left open plenty of possibilities for a plan B. Different cities, different years... She answered with a nod of her head as she pulled a biscuit out of her pocket and nibbled on the corner.

Graham stared at her for a moment like he was trying to solve a puzzle. It made the Doctor a bit nervous. He looked down at his tea for a moment.

"You know, the first year I knew Grace, I was in for treatment on my birthday and the chemo was something terrible. I couldn't eat, if you can imagine me with no appetite. I was exhausted and in a lot of pain," his voice shook slightly with the emotion of the painful memory, before he paused and looked at the Doctor with a sad smile. "And Grace comes into my room with this huge slice of chocolate cake and a candle on top. And she says to me, 'You're alive, and you're fighting, and even if you feel like hell today, we've got to celebrate that you were born and you are _here_. So I'm going to eat this cake for you. And I'm going to enjoy it. And I'm going to tell you how delicious it is. Because I know you're a good man. If you can't enjoy your birthday cake, you'll be glad it made a tired old nurse happy. But I can't blow this candle out for you, that'd bring bad luck.' And I laughed for the first time in days. I laughed so hard I cried. And I'll tell you what Doc, I've never seen someone enjoy a piece of cake so much in my entire life. I even managed to take a bite myself, just in case it was the last cake I ever got to eat."

Graham's eyes were hazy, even as he smiled widely at the memory of his Grace and the Doctor couldn't help but smile back at him. She could picture Grace perfectly in the scene he'd described. She'd barely met Grace, but she had spent enough time with her to know that she radiated love and joy.

"What did you wish for, when you blew out the candle?"

"C'mon now, Doc, you know it's bad luck to share your wish," Graham shook his head. "But I will tell you that my wish came true. And if I live to be a hundred, I won't regret it for a second. There's not much risk of me living to a thousand, but I can't imagine I'd regret it even then."

They sat in silence for a moment, the Doctor staring intently into her tea, thinking about how unfair it was for Graham and Grace to have only had three years together.

"We're going to New York, actually. Present day, in your timeline." There, decision made. Shouldn't let good plans go to waste anyway.

Graham gave her a knowing smile. "New York City, night of April 27th...." He leaned in closer to her and spoke quietly, to make it clear to her that he knew he was intruding on a secret and that it was one he was willing to keep. "You know, Doctor, if you want to be alone with her to celebrate her birthday, Ryan and I could use a little family bonding time - just don't tell him I called it that. I'm sure there's a basketball game or a football match or something to keep two blokes busy on a Saturday night."

The Doctor opened her mouth, but couldn't find a response. She didn't think she'd been transparent enough for anyone to catch on. She'd always been able to put on a mask when she needed to. Was it something about this body that made her more expressive?

Before she could ask how he'd known, Graham raised his eyes to look behind her and smiled. "Good morning, Yaz."

"Good morning, Graham. Doctor." Yaz came in sat down beside the Doctor who, uncharacteristically, had yet to greet her and didn't turn to look at her. 

Graham looked between them and jumped up, "Cup of tea, Yaz? Don't mind the Doctor, she's trying to work out a riddle I just gave her, the answer is clearly far too obvious for someone of her intelligence." 

He filled the electric kettle and turned it on before turning back to the Doctor. "The beginning of eternity, The end of time and space The beginning of every end, And the end of every place. Remember that it's a riddle in _English_."

The Doctor was grateful for Graham covering for her and focused on the riddle to calm herself. "It's the letter E!" She shouted, seemingly back to her old self. "I was making that far too philosophical when the answer was so simple," she explained, playing along with the cover story. She shook her head, took a deep breath, and finally turned to her right and looked at Yasmin Khan. She was met with worried eyes.

"Good morning, Yaz. Did you sleep well?" She watched the worry recede as Yaz assured her that she had.

Graham placed a steaming mug of milky tea in front of her.

"Can I ask you a favor, Yaz?" he inquired as he sat down across from her. 

"Did you brew my tea so I'd have to say yes?" she teased.

"No, though you are welcome to keep that kind gesture in mind," Graham laughed. "I was talking to the Doctor earlier, and I told her I thought Ryan and I could use a little one-on-one time. I want him to feel like I'm his family, and we've been through a lot together, but whenever there's downtime it's always the four of us or he goes off to play video games..."

"Of course, Graham. I'm sure the Doctor and I can manage on our own for a while." She glanced to the Doctor who smiled back at her.

They agreed to start the day with a bit of sight-seeing, all four of them - though she didn't tell Yaz where - and then make an excuse to split off. When Ryan finally joined them and they made their way to the control room, the Doctor was surprised to find all the settings were already in place. She shook her head and looked up at the crystal in the center of the console. "Maybe just a _little_ obvious," she admitted in a quiet mumble. And then, much more cheerfully, "Go on Yaz, you do the honors this time, she's all ready to go ." She watched with a smile as the brunette pulled a lever and sent the Tardis flying through time and space.

They stepped out of the Tardis into a patch of trees, it wasn't immediately obvious where they had landed. 

"Where are we?" Yaz turned to ask the Doctor who was locking the door of the Tardis. 

"Come find out for yourself," she answered, taking Yasmin by the hand and pulling her out into the clearing where some teenagers were playing frisbee. She took note of their clothes and guessed that they were back in 2019, or close to it. The Doctor dropped her hand with a laugh and lifted her chin, forcing her to look up over the tree tops.

"WE'RE IN NEW YORK!" she shouted, causing one of the nearby teens to give her a strange look. 

"You said you'd always wanted to visit, and we got a little sidetracked with other galaxies, but here we are: New York, New York, the city so nice they named it twice." 

Yaz threw her arms around the Doctor. "Thank you."

Ryan took the occasion to remind the Doctor that both Australia and a World Cup Final were on _his_ bucket list in case she was wondering and Yaz figured that if the Tardis could hear from this far away they would probably land in Sydney on their next trip no matter what coordinates the Doctor tried to plug in.

They set off on a whirl-wind tour of the sights. Although they had been awake for a few hours on the Tardis, it was only shortly after 9am when they arrived leaving them several hours to explore. They strolled through the park, walked around Time Square, saw the Brooklyn Bridge, ate lunch at a famous deli, and stopped for coffee at a hipster coffee shop that confounded the Doctor by serving her hot chocolate separated into a beaker of milk and a vial of chocolate. Yaz was certain that her neck would be sore for days from looking up so much. They had visited incredible alien planets, but it was still somehow overwhelming to look all around her and think that _humans_ built all of this. 

She had visited London several times, but she had never been to a city on earth that was so full of skyscrapers and so full of people. Somewhere in the shuffle of things the Doctor had started taking hold of her hand so they wouldn't get separated when Yaz stopped to gape at a view or the Doctor turned suddenly to look in a shop window and exclaim how clever humans could be. ("Is a rabbit-shaped tape dispenser really _clever_?" Ryan whispered.) Yaz had to remind herself frequently that, as much as she might wish it, and as much as it may feel like it, she was **not** the lead character in some romantic comedy. She was just visiting New York with some mates. And holding hands. As you do.

Graham studied an events calendar while they all tried to figure out how to drink their drinks. Ryan's had been served with two glasses, a pile of loose-leaf tea at the bottom of one, hot water in the other, and a thin strainer on the tray beside them.

"What's wrong with a good old tea bag?" he asked. 

"Do you want me to brew it for you?" Yasmin offered. "I think you have to pour the water back and forth between the cups." 

"I should have got an orange juice like you did. At least they can't complicate that."

"Don't challenge them," Yaz warned as she picked up the glasses and carefully poured the hot water over the leaves.

"Look at this, son, er Ryan," Graham held the events calendar out for him to see. "There's a friendly today between the US and England, just over at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey."

"NO WAY." Ryan grabbed the calendar to look closer and then immediately pulled out his phone. "Raheem Sterling's starting. I could see Raheem play! Could I see Raheem play? Do you think there are still tickets?"

"Probably, I don't think the US men's team is good enough to sell out a friendly." Yaz answered, earning her an unnoticed glare from a neighbouring table.

"Doesn't matter," the Doctor said, reaching into her coat pockets. "You won't need tickets, you're press." She handed them each one of her psychic ID papers. 

"Senior Sports Reporter, Sheffield Observer," Graham read. "You don't think they'll notice that there is no Sheffield Observer?"

"The Americans working security? Nah, Sheffield is one of England's best kept secrets. On the off chance they've heard of it, I'm sure they won't have memorized all the local papers. But these are psychic papers, remember? If you don't want to be press, they'll figure out something else. You've talked your way in and out of more trouble in the last few months than just getting into a football game. I'm not worried."

"Are you two not coming?" Ryan looked between the Doctor and Yaz. "I thought you liked sports, Yaz?"

"I've got a little business to take care of, myself, an old friend to check in on. I was hoping Yaz would keep me company," the Doctor replied.

"Yeah, I really prefer the women's game anyway," Yaz explained. Ryan knew as well as anyone that didn't matter, though. It could be the Women's World Cup Final with England the favourite to win and she would still choose the Doctor instead, even if she'd only asked her to go along with her to Sainsbury's to pick up some jaffa cakes.

\----  
Ryan and Graham set off to find their way to the game while Yaz and the Doctor decided to enjoy wandering the streets of some of New York's famous neighbourhoods. Yaz wanted to take a break from the main tourist sites and spend some time just watching what life was like in the city. The streets here weren't as crowded as the center of Manhattan had been, but the Doctor still took her hand when they left the coffee shop and Yaz certainly hadn't protested. Occasionally the Doctor would give her hand a squeeze to emphasize a point as she was talking or to draw Yaz's attention to something she wanted to point out. 

They were walking down a quiet side street when suddenly the Doctor jerked her hand to pull her backwards. She stopped at the entrance to a narrow alley they had just passed where two kitchen workers were arguing near a dumpster. She mouthed _Sorry_ to Yasmin and cocked her head to listen with no regard to subtlety.

"Dude, it was just a rat. As long as it stays _outside_ , it's really not our problem."

"I'm telling ya, man, this wasn't a rat. It was at least two feet long, it stood on its hind legs, and it has THREE EYES."

"If it's eating outta this dumpster, of course it's gonna be huge. And genetic mutations happen, didn't you see that two-headed snake on Twitter?"

"You're not listening to me, man. It's third eye shot a laser beam. It burned a hole right through the trash can. Look at it!"

"Listen, dude, I don't know what you took. But you can't do that shit at work. Save it for your days off. Go home and sober up, I'm calling Toni in to do your dinner shift."

The Doctor suddenly dropped Yaz's hand and took off towards the two men. Yaz watched her go for a moment - it was always something to see the Doctor spring into action - and took off after her.

"Hi fellas, how's it going? My colleague and I happened to overhear a bit of your conversation, and what luck, we're with the city's animal control department!" she riffled through her pockets looking for her psychic papers, forgetting she'd loaned them to the guys. She gave up and pulled out her sonic instead. "Can you tell me where exactly you saw the creature you were describing?"

"Just over there, on the other side of the dumpster."

His co-worker looked nervous. "Hygiene in our kitchen is impeccable, we can't be responsible for keeping rats off the street."

"Of course you aren't, that's our job!" The Doctor replied cheerfully, examining the hole in the side of the dumpster with her sonic before looking back at the other worker. "Did you see where it went?"

"Went off that way," he replied gesturing further down the alley.

"If you're with the city, why do you have a British accent?" the other man asked.

The Doctor rolled her eyes as she stood up. "It's a country of immigrants, innit?"

"Don't mind him, he immigrated from New Jersey himself," the guy who had seen the creature joked. "Since it would appear I've got the night off, I'm going to go clock out."

"And I've got a service to prep. Have fun chasing rats," the second man scoffed before following his co-worker inside.

"Is it possible," Yaz ventured tentatively, "That your guy here really did just take some sort of drug?"

"He might have, bless him, but he also gave a perfect description of a Nalango root-chopper. They're usually pretty harmless, really. The laser-eye is for cutting through tree roots to burrow underneath and look for food. They live in very dense forests. But if there's really one here, he's a very long way from home."

Yaz couldn't help but smile. Trouble seemed to follow the Doctor, but really it was just that she had an extraordinary knack for being wherever it was that someone needed help. 

"How do we find him?" Yaz asked. "Can your sonic get a read on anything?" 

"It's only picking up some energy signals where he lasered the hole in the bin, I don't think I can track him with my sonic unless he's punching a laser-hole trail for us to follow, and I hope that he's not. Someone could get seriously hurt."

"Well," Yaz started walking down the alley. "We'll just have to look for him the old-fashioned way: spread out and use our eyes. I'll take a left at the corner, you go right?"

As they advanced toward the end of the alley they heard a voice to the north yell out, "JESUS CHRIST WHAT THE -" and they both set off running. 

"New plan: we both go right!" the Doctor yelled as they neared the corner. 


	3. Fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor finally gets to wish Yaz a happy birthday, and there are fireworks.

After several hours, a half-dozen wild cover stories for as many laser incidents (which could have been made more convincing if the Doctor had kept one of her psychic papers), one brief tumble down a fire escape (the Doctor), three scratches from a feral cat (Yaz), one possible Lady Gaga sighting, and two very clever traps (one of which actually worked), they managed to get the Nalango root-chopper onto the Tardis and teleported back to his own planet.

The Doctor returned from putting the teleportation equipment away, peered out the door of the Tardis, and turned back in a huff. "It's already dark out, we're too late," she almost whined. "You'd think being a Time Lord, you'd always have enough time but somehow it still gets dark too soon." 

Yaz had to repress a laugh as she watched the Doctor complain. She'd rarely heard her friend sound so disappointed and she couldn't understand why she should find nightfall so disappointing here in New York. It's the city that never sleeps, after all, isn't it? "Too late for what, Doctor? Were we supposed to be somewhere important? I thought the meeting a friend thing was a white lie to give Ryan and Graham some family time."

The Doctor walked over and leaned against the console beside Yaz. "We were supposed to be on the Staten Island Ferry," she blew her hair out of her face before continuing. "And it's not a matter of life or death or the end of time or anything but it was... important to me," she explained, staring at the ceiling of the Tardis.

"Why is it too late? What time does the ferry stop running?" Yaz put her hand on the Doctors arm, ready to race across the city to cheer the Doctor up.

The Doctor couldn't help but smile at her. This wasn't the first time her brilliant Yaz had held out enough hope for both of them. "It's still running," she took a deep breath and looked her companion in the eyes. "I just wanted you to see the sunset from the ferry, the way the colours light up the water and the soft evening light illuminates the buildings... it's so beautiful, Yaz. It's this brilliant combination of the magic of nature and this incredible city that's drawn so many people from so many places to an island of towers that reach for the sky." She paused to sigh. "I just... wanted you to see it."

Yasmin felt a deep blush heating her cheeks. After all the extraordinary places she had taken her, she couldn't believe the Doctor would still be so disappointed by just one missed opportunity to share a beautiful sight with her. She knew there was no use trying to change the conversation, turn around and crack a joke and move on to a lighter topic. Once again, she could only be direct and honest. The Doctor had that effect on her, creating these moments of vulnerability.

"I'm sorry that I missed it, Doctor. I hope we do see the sunset on the Staten Island Ferry some day. But I got to help someone who was lost and afraid and in danger find their way home, quite literally across the universe. And I got to do it with you. I can't imagine a sunset that could be more beautiful than that."

The Doctor wrapped her arms around her companion, squeezing her tightly. In all her determination to plan out the perfect birthday surprise for Yaz, the Doctor had forgotten what it was about this incredible woman that made her want so badly to make her happy in the first place. Her kindness and compassion, her dedication to serving others, her bravery and her sense of adventure. Somehow, by spoiling her plans, the universe had perfected them.

The moment was interrupted by a long, low growl and Yasmin started to laugh into the Doctor's shoulder. She pulled back from the hug, reluctantly. "Sorry, Doctor, I think I'm getting a bit hungry."  
The Doctor laughed and rushed to pick up the phone on the control console. "I have just the thing," she said and dialled a number. "Hi, yes, it's me, can you make the delivery in about, 20 minutes? Brilliant! Cheers!"

Yasmin cocked her head but gave up on trying to figure out exactly what the Doctor was up to. She was still overwhelmed by the feeling of the Doctor's arms around her and the thought of them watching the sunset together. After months of insisting that there was nothing more than close friendship between them, that there could be nothing more, the Doctor would want nothing more... she was afraid to let this crack of hope open. To let herself admit just how badly she wanted something more.

"C'mon, Yaz, have you ever taken a New York City taxi?" The Doctor asked with a smile as she grabbed her hand and led her out the door. It was a rhetorical question, of course, so Yaz didn't bother responding. She focused instead on trying to take in every detail of the situation. The feel of the Doctor's hand in hers, the smell of the air as they walked through the park, the glow of the streetlight as the Doctor hailed a cab, the lights of the buildings they passed stretching toward the sky, the music in the taxi that sounded like it was from a Bollywood movie. 

The cab came to a stop and the Doctor handed the driver cash and helped Yaz out of the taxi, making sure she didn't miss a step as she craned her head back and forth, trying to take in the whole of the facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. "What's inside is even more impressive," the Doctor whispered to her. 

It was just after nine o'clock - the museum was undoubtedly closed - and Yaz wasn't sure what the Doctor expected them to eat after-hours in an art museum. But she remembered what the Doctor had said to her the night before. _I really need you to trust me._ So Yaz kept her questions to herself, for now, and waited to follow the Doctor's lead. 

Only, the Doctor didn't seem to be going anywhere. Instead, she had walked up a few steps and turned to peer around like she'd lost something. Yaz might have decided not to ask questions, but her stomach had other plans and gave a small grumble. The Doctor squeezed her hand. "I promise, we'll eat soon, the cab ride was faster than I thought but - THERE!" She dropped Yasmin's hand and bounded down the steps to the left where a delivery scooter had pulled to a stop. The driver opened the back of his scooter and handed the Doctor two boxes of pizza before driving away. 

The Doctor ran back up the steps two at a time and said, "Follow me," as she quickly continued up the steps and around to a side door. A security guard opened the door and Yaz expected the Doctor to fish in her pockets for the psychic papers she didn't have, but to her surprise the man simply stood aside to let them through and wished them a pleasant evening.

She followed the Doctor through long, high-walled galleries and up wide staircases until they finally stepped out into the cool evening air. The Doctor had led her to the roof where lush green plants spread out around them and the lights of the surrounding buildings created a patchwork tapestry in the sky on all sides. Just as she had on the front steps, the Doctor stopped and looked around for a moment like she wasn't quite sure where to go, and then set off with determination to her left, pulling Yasmin along with her. 

She finally stopped in front of a long couch and coffee table that looked entirely out of place in the rooftop garden of the fancy museum. A flannel blanket was folded across each arm of the sofa and glass bottles of still and sparkling water, glasses, and cloth napkins were waiting on the coffee table next to where the Doctor placed the pizzas, dropping Yaz's hand to move the napkins and make space for them. The Doctor turned and watched Yaz looking around, taking in the scene before her with sparkling eyes and an open-mouthed smile. "This place is incredible, Doctor, how did you get us up here?"

The Doctor sat down on the couch and occupied herself with straightening the blanket beside her while she spoke. "Oh, it was simple really, just gave the Mayor a ring. Helped him out with an aliens-in-the-sewers sort of situation shortly after his election and he felt like he owed me a favour for keeping it a secret." Yaz watched the Doctor intently as she moved from straightening the blanket to carefully aligning the napkins and adjusting the boxes of pizza. The Doctor had never been one to keep still, but that usually meant darting off in every direction or a bit of dramatic flailing, not manic tidying... _Oh_ , Yaz was a bit embarrassed that it had taken her this long to figure it out. _The Doctor is nervous._ Yaz tried to remember if she'd ever seen the Doctor properly nervous. Stressed? Pressure was part of the job. Anxious? Sure, when there were lives on the line. Socially awkward? Daily. But, nervous? Nervous was new.

"Doctor..." she began, but was quickly cut off by what she could only describe, if she was being completely honest, as absurdly adorable nervous rambling.

"I wanted you to try the most amazing pizza on the planet, but I thought that after a day in the city, it would be nice to sit down somewhere a bit calmer, out of the crowds. Though, it turned out we spent most of the day running _through_ those crowds, so maybe you didn't get to fully appreciate them. We can go out after we eat though, if it's too quiet here. It's a bit quiet here, isn't it? Shoulda planned music, maybe the security guard has a radio..." 

The Doctor finally looked up at Yaz, whose smile had stretched impossibly wider as her body shook softly from suppressed laughter.

"This is perfect, Doctor, thank you," and without second-guessing herself she sat down on the couch and wrapped the Doctor in another hug, trying again to take in every detail of the scene: the smell of the Doctor's hair, the feel of the Doctor's hands on her back, the sound of the traffic below... 

Eventually, the Doctor pulled back and turned to the table. "Can't promise it'll be the best pizza on the planet if we let it get cold," she said opening the boxes and handing Yaz a napkin.

After they ate the best pizza Yaz had ever tasted, they wandered through the galleries for a little while, talking about the colours and the emotions of the works and the Doctor bragged just a bit about the time she took Vincent van Gogh to Paris. They went back up to the roof. The air was chillier than when they'd arrived and they wrapped themselves in the blankets, curled close together as they looked out at the lights of the New York City skyline. They continued to talk as they had all evening, asking questions and sharing stories, allowing an honesty they'd always held back from to find its way into the conversation. Eventually, they found themselves sitting in a comfortable silence, Yaz leaning into the Doctor's shoulder, their hands still intertwined as they had been for most of the day and the Doctor's other arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"I usually prefer to be where I can see the stars," the Doctor mused. "But I'm glad we're right here." She said it as though she was only talking about the place, but it wasn't that at all. The Doctor had carefully avoided not this place, of course, but this situation. And yet, she was surprised to find that despite her fear and the pain she knew was inevitable, she no longer had any doubts about being right here: with her arms wrapped around the woman she loved. She knew Graham was right and that even in a thousand years, she could never regret this moment. Right here, with Yaz's hand in hers and no stars in the sky, it felt almost impossible for the Time Lord to even tell whether a minute had passed or an hour. Time seemed to stand still and speed up and change forms entirely.

So when midnight arrived, the Doctor was just as surprised as Yaz, at first, to hear distant bursts and to see the sky light up in brilliant streaks of silver, blue, purple, green, crimson, gold...and the twinkles as they fell. They didn't forget the twinkles.

The Doctor watched the fireworks for a moment before she turned her attention to watching Yaz watch the fireworks, the bursts of colour dancing in her dark eyes..  
"Happy Birthday, Yasmin Khan."

Yaz turned to face the doctor, her eyes wide. "How did you know it's my birthday?" Yaz hadn't made a point of telling anyone it was coming up. For one, they had been rather occupied lately, investigating mysteries and saving worlds doesn't leave a lot of time for buying birthday cards, does it? And she wasn't even sure there was a point in celebrating her birthday when they were in another century or in the time vortex. Besides, she worried it would make her a little homesick not to spend it with her family.

"I heard you mention it to Ryan a few months ago in the library," the Doctor explained. "When he was asking if astrology was real. Made a mental note. Put it on the schedule, if you will," she joked with a cheeky smile. "Would you like me to sing?"

Yaz reached up and pushed the Doctor's hair back behind her ear, looking into her green eyes with disbelief.

"You did this," she said titling her head towards the fireworks which reached ever higher above them, "for my birthday?"

"It's the most important day of the year," the Doctor said throwing her hands up in the air, like she was astounded that Yaz wasn't already aware of it, "Celebrating the day that kept us from having a universe with no Yaz. There should be a parade, really. Several of them, all over the world. Though I suppose most people aren't lucky enough to even know. Pity, really."

Yaz opened her mouth, but couldn't manage to speak as she looked between the Doctor and the fireworks. The Doctor put her arm around Yaz and pulled her in so that Yaz's head was lying on her shoulder.  
She took Yaz's hand in hers again, running her thumb softly over her knuckles as they watched the colours in the sky grow so dense the individual lines became almost indistinguishable as the show approached its finale.

The Doctor felt her hearts race as she let herself take in the moment. She considered all the things she could say. She wanted Yaz to know how much she cared for her and to understand how scary that was for the Time Lord to admit. But the Doctor had long worried about the influence that she had on those who traveled with her, wondered if she was selfish for putting them in so much danger, if she held too much sway over them.. _You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around._ She still wasn't sure she could disagree with the man who made that accusation, a few regenerations ago. Whatever happened with Yaz, the Doctor had to let it be her choice, without the pressure of any grand confessions. Besides, once she got to talking, the Doctor rarely managed to stop short of saying too much. She would only make it clear, she decided, that the door was open.

The last of the fireworks faded from the sky, leaving only the soft yellow lights of the distant skyline lighting up the sky. Yaz lifted her head and turned to face the Doctor.

"That was beautiful," she whispered, barely louder than the hum of the late-night traffic below. "I can't believe you arranged all this for me."

The Doctor smiled at Yaz and raised her free hand to trace the edge of her cheek, "Yasmin Khan," she said in her best voice of authority, "What is it going to take for you to believe that this is the most important day of the year? You better believe that next year there'll be a parade. Or maybe a carnival... Anyway, we should probably be getting back to the Tardis, it's already 6:30 in the morning in Sheffield."

"Sheffield?" Yaz asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah Sheffield, did ye think we were going to miss birthday cake at Yaz's? Your mum would never forgive me. And if it wasn't for Najia, there'd be no Yaz. I rang a while back to ask if we could all come and she promised there'd be ice cream."

"You actually rang my mum?" Yaz shook her head and laughed, before she paused and looked at the Doctor with wide eyes. "You didn't mention what happened in California, did you? Or the Soliplane? Or..."

"I promise, Yaz, I didn't scare your Mum, only told her we'd be coming 'round for your birthday and my favourite ice cream flavours." She watched as Yaz's shoulders dropped and she let out a long breath she hadn't even realised she was holding. Her Mum had probably seen enough of the Doctor in action when her hotel was taken over by giant spiders to suspect that her daughter's adventures with the Time Lord weren't just leisurely holidays, but she really didn't need to know all of the perilous details. And Yaz was surprised to realise how excited she was to see her family for her birthday. They drove her mad, but she truly did miss them.

"But, just so you know...." now it was the Doctor whose shoulders drew up and chest tightened as she shifted her gaze to their joined hands. "If your mum asks you again if we're seeing each other... the answer is entirely up to you." She drew in a long breath before she raised her eyes to look at Yaz. The Doctor had never seen those dark eyes shining so brightly, she was certain they held more light and more depth than an entire galaxy.

"Doctor..." Yaz began to speak, when a question sprang into her mind so quickly it came out of her mouth before she even had time to think it. "Why do you think my mum will ask again?"

It wasn't at all what she'd meant to say. After months of believing, of convincing herself every day, that this exact moment was the one thing in this wild and unpredictable universe that simply wasn't possible, perhaps her brain had short-circuited trying to process the Doctor's declaration.

"Well... I _didn't_ tell her about the sonic mine or the flesh-eating moths or anything I thought she'd find alarming, but I _did_ tell her she had the most amazing daughter in the universe who deserved to have birthday cake with her family at the very least and maybe I also mentioned the parade or the carnival idea and she sounded a little bit suspicious when she said that we should plan to stay for tea because we would have _a lot_ to talk about..."

The Doctor cut off her rambling as Yaz's unbridled laughter rang out across the rooftop, the previous tension of the moment broken by the image of her mum holding her mobile, listening to a blonde alien chatter on about her eldest daughter's birthday like a smitten schoolgirl. She laughed so hard a tear slid down her cheek and when the Doctor reached out and gently wiped it away, the tension that had evaporated came rushing back as the Doctor's touch seemed to set her on fire. Her laughter died abruptly as her breath caught in her throat. Yaz turned to the Doctor and saw a vulnerability in her features that she'd never seen before. She suddenly realised that the Doctor was waiting for her response. Had this impossibly intelligent woman who could fashion a sonic Swiss army not-knife out of bits and bobs and some Sheffield steel, outsmart a droid army, and use a mobile to reprogram DNA bombs, honestly not figured out that Yaz had fallen for her almost as soon as the Doctor herself had fallen from the sky?

Yaz opened her mouth, but words wouldn't come out. _Perhaps my brain really did short circuit._ She decided that words were really rather inadequate anyway. Her hand trembled slightly as she reached out and ran her fingers up the Doctor's neck, pushed her hair back behind her ear, and gently pulled her forward. The moment their lips met, the sounds of the city disappeared. The seemingly endless universe they'd spent the last months exploring together narrowed and for a moment all that existed was the sensation of soft lips, the sound of rapidly beating hearts, and an insatiable desire for _more_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ending started off so so so much cheesier and I had to scale it back. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!


End file.
